Ryan Dungey and Red Bull KTM will debut this weekend at the Monster Energy Cup. Image: Hoppenworld.com.

Red Bull KTM and Ryan Dungey have made the shock decision to contest this weekend’s Monster Energy Cup in Las Vegas.

Dungey was initially planning to sit out the event, however successful testing in the early stages with the 450 SX-F have resulted in an early debut for the 2010 AMA Supercross and Motocross Champion in orange.

“After testing the new KTM over the past two weeks, I am feeling confident enough to compete and am really eager to see where I stack up against the competition,” said Dungey.

“It’s a last minute decision to race this event but the team is behind me 100 percent and I am excited to make my debut on the bike.”

Dungey will be reunited with Roger DeCoster at KTM, the legendary former racer who discovered Dungey by signing him to Suzuki as a rookie in 2007.

“To my surprise, Ryan was eager to race the Monster Cup,” commented Red Bull KTM Factory team manager Roger DeCoster. “We didn’t expect him to race after only two weeks on the bike, but he will use the event to help gauge where he stands speed-wise against the competition.

“It will also give the team a racing opportunity to test different set-ups with the bike prior to the opening round of the Supercross. Ryan can then take this experience to prepare his training regime this winter.”

Dungey is riding a special version of the 450 SX-F, equipped with fuel injection and an all-new lightweight engine developed specifically for him in 2012.